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The World Is a Book
I’m a reader. I love to immerse myself in a book, wandering through the book’s locations in my imagination. Whether it’s climbing the wooden steps at Barbary Lane with Mouse on my way to dinner with Mrs. Madrigal or following Gerry as he explores Corfu, I am right there with my favorite character in my mind, experiencing the location with them. And if I ever visit a city that figures prominently in a beloved book, you can be sure that I visit the locales mentioned by the author.
Literary tourism is not a new thing. Upper class European men (and later women) of means and ranking would take a “grand tour” through Europe. The Grand Tour was supposed to be a complete immersion in art, music, architecture, and literature to educate and give depth to shallow youths. Tourists would flock to Florence to walk in the footsteps of Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio. Verona has long capitalized on its ties to Romeo and Juliet. (If you go to Verona, be aware that “Juliet’s Balcony” was added to the façade of a 13th-century house in 1937 as a set for George Cukor’s film of the Shakespearean tragedy.) Literary tours continue to this day, as you will see.
The Old Fortress and the Old Town, Corfu, by Martin Falbisoner, CC
Did you watch the Masterpiece Theater series, The Durrells in Corfu? This popular show was based on a trilogy of semi-autobiographical novels by renowned naturalist and conservationist Gerald Durrell. The trilogy, consisting of My Family and Other Animals; Birds, Beasts and Relatives; and Fauna and Family (published in the United Kingdom as The Garden of the Gods) recounts the four bucolic years that Durrell spent on the Greek island of Corfu with his family before World War II erupted and sent the family hurrying back to England.
Gerald Durrell was the youngest of four siblings. His stories of life with Larry (the famed novelist Lawrence Durrell), Leslie, Margo, and Mother, as well as his dogs Roger, Widdle, and Puke and assorted wildlife Gerald adopts are some of the funniest you will ever read. Seriously, I can’t read these books in public because I invariably end up laughing until I’m crying. And thanks to the television series, a new generation has come to appreciate Durrell’s books.
Fortunately for all of us Durrellites, we can tour Corfu and visit many of the sites mentioned. We can see the Strawberry Pink Villa and the Daffodil Yellow Villa, two of the places the Durrells lived. We can wander across the Chessboard Fields near Lake Chalikiopoulou, where Gerry would wait for the tortoises to emerge in the spring. We can wander along Pontikonisi, or Mouse Island, and get coffee in Corfu’s Old Town. There are several tour companies on the island who are devoted solely to the Durrell’s idyllic stay on this magical island.
Chatsworthy House, aka “Pemberly”, by Gareth Williams
My mother is an Austenite. She loves the books of Jane Austen with a passion that has not dimmed. While I am not quite as much of a fan as my mother, millions of others are. Jane Austen was a brilliant writer. Walter Scott, in an anonymous review of Emma, praised Austen’s realism, her “art of copying from nature as she really exists in the common walks of life, and presenting to the reader, instead of the splendid scenes from an imaginary world, a correct and striking representation of that which is daily taking place around him.”
With the enduring popularity of Austen’s books, there are naturally many companies that offer tours of “Austen’s England.” Do you want to explore Austen’s life. You can tour both Steventon, the small village in Hampshire where Austen grew up, and Chawton, 15 miles away, where the house where Austen wrote all six of her novels is now a museum. Or perhaps you’d prefer to visit Bath and explore the settings of Persuasion and Northanger Abbey. Chatsworth House, the Derbyshire seat of the Dukes of Devonshire, is one of the estates that claims to be the inspiration for “Pemberley,” Mr. Darcy’s stately home in Pride and Prejudice. Another is Lyme Park, former home of the Legh family, in Cheshire. Austenites can visit both houses and decide for themselves.
Macondray Lane, aka Barbary Lane, San Francisco, CA
When I was in college, my roommate introduced me to Armistead Maupin’s “Tales of the City.” This series of books was originally published as serial of newspaper installments, starting in 1978, and follows a group of friends in San Francisco. Maupin used San Francisco as essentially a character in the books, with locations like Russian Hill, Grace Cathedral, and Jackson Square adding color and realism to the books. I’ve read these books so often, I can walk in the footsteps of Mouse, Mary Ann, and Mrs. Madrigal in my mind.
For those who want to walk in their footsteps in real life, don’t despair. Lovers of the books (and of both the PBS series and the later Netflix series) can either visit the books’ locations by themselves or take a guided tour. There are several companies that offer “Tales Tours.” Be sure to climb the Macondray Steps, the inspiration for the Barbary Lanes Steps in the novels. Or fly a kite where Anna and Edgar did on Ocean Beach, adjacent to Golden Gate Park. The possibilities to experience Maupin’s San Francisco are almost endless.
So when planning your next trip, why not think about the books you love? Visit James Joyce’s Dublin or The Lost Generation’s Paris. Follow in the footsteps of Spencer as you tour Boston or find out where Hogwarts really is. Literary tours are a wonderful way to see a location and will add depth to your next re-reading of your favorite books.
